Three time's the charm
by HiddenEye
Summary: "I wonder what they'll say if both of you went out with me now," Adrien mused. "And risk getting more lies?" Marinette asked. "Where they'll talk more about you and your adventures?" Nathanaël raised an eyebrow. There was a pause. "Yep." "Let's go." "I'll get the keys."


A/N: When one of your fav artists ship the things you do, you tend to scream until your muse is awaken by that. Thanks to BirukiMeraki for the beta! ^^

* * *

It was getting hard to work on your sketches when you have two boys latching onto you like leeches, which Marinette didn't mind most of the time but she _really_ needed to finish on this project as soon as possible and make the best out of them.

She felt a nose skim on her shoulder while an arm tug her close from where she lay on her stomach, jolting her momentarily that she sighed. "Nath," She glanced at the red haired, who looked disgustingly content in burrowing his face into her side. "I have to work."

"You're always working," came the mumbled reply as his hold on her tightened. "It's time to rest."

She felt a kiss on her shoulder. "He's right, princess," She rose an eyebrow to green eyes, where they looked droopy with the calm air around them despite the grin on his face. "You've been working on this for a few hours now, I think getting some shut eye won't hurt."

Shaking her head, she continued where she left off, scribbling some notes beside the sleeves she drawn and underlining the word 'lace' a couple of times. "I still have to finish this, and some other sketches that needs both of your help, since it's anatomy and I need the right amount of light to make it perfect so that I could practice shading some shadows."

There was a soft snort that breathed against her shoulder before a pair of lips grazed at the corner of her eye. "I thought you didn't need any references when it comes to us," Adrien teased. "Because I would say you memorised every single detail without trying."

Nathanaël let out a chuckle as he lifted his head, the glint in his eyes unmistakable. "He's got a point, you were always good in that, why the help now?"

They were ganging up on her, and she rolled her eyes despite feeling the heat that stretched across her cheeks. "Like I said, I want to practice some shading, and the lights are always different so it's good work to use the both of you while I'm at it."

"Use us?" Adrien clicked his tongue as he laid his head on the dip of her back, just below where Nathanaël wrapped his arm around her. "What, we're your mannequins now?"

She ignored him, feeling the way Nathanaël moved his arm and instead ran his fingers through Adrien's hair, where the blond hummed happily that he would have purred if he was in his suit.

Biting her bottom lip, she stole a glance towards Nathanaël, guilt blooming inside her chest as he stayed oblivious on her and Adrien's other life as the superhero duo, where the two partners made a deal not to tell him about it. For his own safety, they said.

Even if it hurt them both to lie to him about it as they made numerous excuses to why either of them was missing, where the moment they stepped inside their studio, they would be bombarded with quiet worry on where they were while akumas were present.

Marinette pushed the thought away, letting herself sink in this bubble of love they built, just enjoying each others presence as they pleased.

 _For his own safety_ , she tried to convince herself as she jotted down more notes beside the skirt she drawn.

She couldn't let anyone be a target for her in the future.

* * *

"Adrien, move your head a bit to the left."

He did as he was told, and Marinette let her eyes wander over the two half naked men sprawled on their king sized bed as she tapped her pencil on her sketchbook, studying their positions carefully for a good shot.

Nathanaël was stretched across the bed, his back was faced towards her as the blanket draped to his waist with his arms folded under his cheek, allowing her to see the way his back muscles move as he shifted in his place. Adrien had his chin resting on Nathanaël's back, an arm slung over while he stared with adoration at the red head in front of him, his golden hair a tousled mess from where he lay down.

She saw the opportunity to draw when she woke up and quickly grabbed her utensils as she dragged a stool in front of the bed, ignoring the grumbled protests from her boys as she positioned herself on it with a leg hiked up to use as a table, her hair pushed to the side to prevent her sight being obscured by it. The large T-shirt she wore hung to one side that exposed one freckled shoulder to the cool air.

The strokes of her pencil filled in the space as she quickly immersed herself into it, the tip of the pencil aligned Adrien's toned arm and his fingers before it ran across the dip of Nathanaël's back, making its way towards his spine and the way his shoulders bunched up slightly. She tried not to press too hard on the paper when she started to shade the way the morning sun shone softly onto their forms, illuminating their bodies that she was tempted to jump in again to join in their cuddle.

Finally, with one last touch of their hairs, she set down the book and pencil on a nearby table before bounding up, seeing the way Adrien smirked at her as she dipped her knee onto the mattress, meeting his lips halfway when she kissed him across Nathanaël, her own smile widening.

The bed squeaked when Nathanaël flipped himself over, and Marinette felt a hand run across her bare thigh that caused her to groan, resulting Adrien to deepen their kiss when he cupped her nape, his tongue ran over her lips.

Nathanaël lifted himself up and pressed his mouth onto her neck, fluttering open mouth kisses that she let out a sharp breath when she felt the tease of his teeth. She detached herself from Adrien with a moan and searched Nathanaël blindly while burying her fingers into his hair, and tugged him forward that her lips crashed into his.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled flush to his chest, and she felt Adrien pressed himself against her back, pushing her hair to the side as he started to pepper kisses and nips on the corner of her jaw, his hand edging up her waist as the shirt managed to hike up with him, allowing her to feel Nathanaël's bare stomach against hers while his fingers brushed against her ribs.

Nathanaël swallowed the whimper she managed to make when Adrien sank his teeth into her shoulder, and then giving her a sweet kiss as an apology that she wanted wipe the grin he made when he pressed his lips against her skin.

Her boys was going to kill her someday.

* * *

"You two might want to have a look at this."

Marinette slowed down when she passed the sofa, peering curiously over Nathanaël's shoulder at the magazine he was reading. "What is it?"

Adrien flopped himself beside him, snorting when he saw the headlines. "Oh, that."

"It's amazing how they could make up such stories." Nathanaël snickered as Marinette leaned against the back of the couch, wrapping her arms loosely across his chest as she read what it said.

"'Adrien Agreste, one or two?'" she said out loud, where below it had a picture of Adrien and her holding hands. She remembered he took her out for lunch and Nathanaël wasn't able to join them, bringing her to her favourite deli since she hadn't had breakfast that morning and she was absolutely famished then. Another picture was when Adrien and Nathanaël walked down the side of the street with cups of coffee in hand, both had wide grins on their faces as they talked about something then.

"It says here you were in a relationship with Mari before you decided to go scandalous and go out with me, because, I quote," Nathanaël cleared his throat almost mockingly. "'The model was angry at Dupain-Cheng, where she decided Agreste wasn't enough for her as she scouts for other men worthy enough of her attention.' And then, there's a small photo of you and Kim at a cafe, Mari."

She laughed. "Kim saw me and asked me how I was and then talked about him and Alix for a few minutes before he had to leave," she shook her head. "This is ridiculous, it was a short talk too!"

"Ooo, look at this." It was obvious Adrien was having fun reading about his 'secret life' as he pointed to the bottom of the page. "It says 'Agreste's secret boy has a secret of his own! Nathanaël, and old schoolmate of the model, is seen going out with Chloe Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter. And from the looks of it, it looked as if things were getting heated.'" He blinked at the picture. "She looks like she's demanding something from you, I can see it in the way she invaded your space."

Nathanaël frowned. "She kept telling me to paint her and the mayor while she wore one of her new dresses, but I'd have to make time between my classes to do it." He paused. "If I wanted to."

"Scandalous." Marinette grinned.

"She's probably having a fit when she sees this."

"I don't doubt it."

"I wonder what they'll say if both of you went out with me now," Adrien mused.

"And risk getting more lies?" Marinette asked.

"Where they'll talk more about you and your adventures?" Nathanaël raised an eyebrow.

There was a pause.

"Yep."

"Let's go."

"I'll get the keys."

The next day, the three of them doubled over laughing when they saw more outrageous stories under a picture of the three of them sitting on a bench, Marinette and Nathanaël kissing Adrien's cheeks as the model winked at the camera.

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir quietly landed on the roof, breaths coming out heavily as they hid in the shadows, away from prying eyes of people and the glow of the moon. And then, there was a flash of pink and green.

Marinette felt Adrien wrap his arms around her waist, and she let out a sigh as she rested her forehead on his shoulder, her hands loosely holding onto his arms.

He kissed her hair. "We should go in, he's probably wondering."

Nodding, they made their way towards a door and descended down.

The moment they opened the door of the studio, Nathanaël stood up from the couch, causing her to freeze as he gave them both an attempted look of neutrality. He walked up towards them while they stood still until he stopped just a couple of feet in front of them, his sea green eyes flitted across their faces.

Letting out a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know what the two of you are hiding," she felt a ball starting to form in her throat at the way he said those words quietly. "But I trust you both to not pester you for it and only tell me when you feel the time is right. Just," he shook his head as he let out another sigh. "Be careful and don't do anything brash."

Both heroes didn't say anything at first, before Adrien came forward and pulled Nathanaël into a hug, like the way he did to her a few moments ago on the roof. "We're sorry," she heard Adrien whisper. "We want to tell you, but it's for your own safety."

Nathanaël pressed his lips against Adrien's shoulder. "So long it's not anything that could hurt you."

She winced. "We can't promise you that."

She took Nathanaël's hand when he offered it to her, tugging her close so that she was in their embrace. "Promise me to _try_."

She nodded as Adrien planted a soft kiss on his jaw.

"We promise."

* * *

"So, blue or green?"

"Blue."

"Green."

Nathanaël gave them an exasperated look. "We can't do both, you have to choose one."

Marinette crossed her arms. "Well, the sky blue is much better than the lime green, don't you think?"

"Lime green is good for the studio," Adrien pointed out. "It brings out colour to it, one could only stand bland walls."

"I don't want to hurt my eyes when I wake up so early in the morning, Adrien."

"Oh come on, it's like waking up to find grass in your face! It'll be cool."

"Blue is a softer colour and wouldn't blind you the moment you open your eyes."

"But green would be nice, yes?"

"No."

Shaking his head, Nathanaël started for the door. "You two decide quickly, I don't care which one, just hurry up so that we can finish this."

He didn't manage to leave the room when suddenly something wet wipe itself on his cheek, causing him to yelp that his hand shot up to touch the substance, leaving green paint under his wake

Blinking, he looked up to see Adrien crossing his hands behind his back innocently as Marinette turned around with a grin on her face, feigning straightening the plastic that covered the bed.

When Nathanaël stared at Adrien, the model only shrugged, before turning around to argue with Marinette about the colours again.

A mischievous thought crossed his mind and Nathanaël quietly made his way towards them, dipping both his hands into each bucket of paint before standing behind them with a smirk on his face.

"Guys."

The moment the two of them turned, he swiped the paint on their faces, laughing loudly as he ran out of the room, leaving both of his lovers gaping at him as he made his retreat.

It took a while for them to catch him, and when they did, they were all tangled on the floor of their bedroom with paint splattered on their bodies. Nathanaël reached up to press his lips fully onto Adrien's as Marinette wiggled under him, where she ran her blue and green coated fingers under his shirt while she kissed his collar bone.

In the end, they decided blue.

* * *

"No!"

His scream broke Chat's heart as he clutched onto Nathanaël tighter, bringing him up on a roof so that he could be safe from the akuma rampaging through the city while Ladybug followed him from behind.

Nathanaël tore away from him, his eyes wide as he pointed to the shouting people below. "Adrien and Marinette, they're down there, I have to get them."

Chat could feel the look Ladybug shot him as he tried to calm Nathanaël down. "Don't worry, we'll find them as soon as we stop this akuma. For now, you have to go to a safer place, it's too dangerous for you to be there."

"But they're _there!_ " Nathanaël shouted. "I can't leave them like that, I have to get them, they're-"

"Nathanaël," Ladybug cut him off, and Chat heard the way her voice broke. "You have to go home, it's too dangerous-"

"But _they're_ in danger! How can you be so heartless-"

"We're doing what we can," Chat was trying to keep his voice steady. "We have to get rid of the akuma first-"

"Then, _I'll_ look for them," Nathanaël turned towards the door of the roof. "If you're too busy, I'll do it, just don't stop me."

Chat saw the way Ladybug shoot forward and stop in front of Nathanaël, gripping onto his arms as tears started to pool at her eyes. "Nathanaël please," she pleaded. " _Don't_ do this, we'll find them after we defeat the akuma, we promise. But don't go into danger-"

"But I have to find them, they're-"

"I'm _here_ , Nath," she rasped, and she would have shook him if she could. "I'm here, _both_ of us are," she licked her dry lips. "Tikki, spots off."

There was a flash of pink. Chat watched silently as Tikki floated beside her, and Nathanaël was staring at her in shock, taking her in.

"Marinette?"

He dragged his eyes towards Chat, sea green orbs prodded at him that Chat bowed his head. "Plagg."

Green light flashed before Adrien felt Plagg sitting on his shoulder, saying nothing.

He heard a sharp breath.

"Adrien."

Said man looked up, flashing him a smile. "Hi Nath."

The red head couldn't speak for a few minutes, staring at him in amazement and hurt that Adrien felt the guilt coursed through him, weighing him down.

"We'll promise to talk about this later," Marinette assured them as she grabbed Nathanaël's face between her hands, forcing him to look at her. "I want you safe, please. We don't want you running around as we take it down."

He gave a jerky nod, gripping her wrists. "Okay."

She pulled him down and kissed him roughly, sealing a promise, before she backed away. "Tikki, spots on."

And Ladybug was in place. Adrien walked towards Nathanaël and pressed his lips onto his forehead. "I'm sorry."

Nathanaël squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"Plagg, claws out!"

* * *

Adrien and Marinette sat on the couch while Nathanaël was leaning against the window, watching them both when they gave him a chance to talk first.

"You're Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

She pursed her lips, before gave him a small nod. "Yeah."

"And you didn't tell me?" he muttered.

"For your own safety," Adrien told him, meeting his eyes. "We don't want you to get hurt."

His words floated around them, worming their way into their hearts at how they didn't want any of them to be in danger, that they cared for each other too much to see them hurt, and they were going to prevent it from happening if they could help it.

Adrien would go through hell and back if he could, just to protect them.

Nathanaël pushed himself off the glass windows and walked towards them, where he settled beside Marinette, taking her hands between his.

He took a deep breath. "Don't do anything brash."

Adrien felt the way his lips twitched into a smile, albeit it was wry. "We promise to try."

Sighing, Nathanaël nuzzled Marinette's cheek. "Please."

She met Adrien's stare, and he leaned forward to give her a peck on the lips. "Mission accomplished, My Lady," he said quietly.

She hummed, running the back of her fingers across his jaw, her breath stuttering when Nathanaël nipped her ear.

"Mission accomplished," she agreed softly.


End file.
